Collective Impact Coalition’s youngest members share their experiences
30 April 2020, Kuwait City: en.v recently conducted a Shared Measurements workshop for its Collective Impact Coalition (CIC) to explore the ways in which we can utilize standardized measurement tools and research to gather data across our activities. This was done in an effort to identify current issues, address any gaps through shared measurement tools, and use the data to map the way forward. As we dive deeper into this process of strengthening the effectiveness of the CIC we paused to take stock and ask the youngest members of the CIC, the student-led Student Think Tank, to reflect on their experiences thus far and here is what they had to say:
Could you tell more us about the Student Think Tank and its role in the Collective Impact Coalition (CIC)?
Following the initial data gathered from public and private-sector stakeholders, it was concluded that one of the areas in Kuwait requiring the most reform was the education system. Given that this was to be the priority issue that the Collective Impact Coalition would focus on, it was subsequently concluded that in order to approach the issue in a holistic, collective manner, perspectives across stakeholders in the system must be included. Thus, the Student Think Tank was created in order to provide a student perspective on the education system. The Student Think Tank is structured to be student-led. Roles in the CIC are currently slightly less concrete, with think tanks being in the final stages of defining priority areas and agreeing on shared measurements prior to engaging in any think tank-specific projects and data collection. That being said, the Student Think Tank has defined its priority areas to be: 1) communication between stakeholders, 2) youth engagement, and 3) collaboration between educational institutions. In this regard, the Student Think Tank has structured its priorities around strengthening interschool and intraschool relationships at a student level. More specific outcomes within these priorities such as increasing youth engagement in community activities and governance are designed to complement the work of the Inclusion Think Tank, while outcomes towards reducing competitiveness between schools and ensuring teachers and students have access to resources aim to compliment Research & Policy and STEAM Think Tanks. Throughout the timeframe of the CIC pilot program, the Student Think Tank aims to provide continued student insight into the initiatives put forth by the CIC in order to cater to its mandate of user-centric reform.
Who is in the group, what are your priority areas, desired outcomes, and how do they feed into the overall work of the coalition? etc.
Thus far, the Student Think Tank includes representatives from the American School of Kuwait, Al-Bayan Bilingual School, The English Academy, and the American University of Kuwait. The individuals from each institution were identified as leaders within their communities. They were invited on the basis of their commitment to educational reform and their demonstrated ability to identify shortcomings within their respective bodies as well as in occupying the roles needed to strengthen these areas. Over the course of three meetings, these individuals went through multiple iterations of priority areas. Initially, the think tank agreed on six priority areas: Communication between stakeholders, student engagement, cross-sector collaboration, sustainability, stakeholder awareness and training, and shared governance. After discussing these priority areas, the think tank narrowed them down further to communication between stakeholders, youth engagement, and collaboration between educational institutions.
The desired outcomes of these priority areas feed directly into the overall priority areas agreed upon by the coalition: Increasing youth engagement, ensuring stakeholders have access to resources, and ensuring that the value of student voices is recognized work towards ensuring environmental, economic, and cultural sustainability respectively. Increasing opportunities for youth engagement and ensuring effective communication between stakeholders works towards the larger priority area of achieving more effective inclusion. Instilling values of student engagement, collaboration, transparency, equitable decision-making, sustainability, and shared governance ensures that an educational culture characterized by civic engagement and transformative citizenship emerges. Finally, working towards increased teacher support and stakeholder awareness targets the current shortcomings in the educational model.
What have you learnt from the collective impact process so far- as a model, and also from its approaches, and key values?
As individuals, we are often working within a system resistant to change. As a result, many of us entered the CIC with a linear approach towards solving an issue. Thus, in the process of first defining priority areas, then finding outcomes, then coming up with shared measurements, and finally devising projects, it was difficult to avoid traversing from a single priority area to a single outcome and in turn to a single project. The CIC encourages an opposite approach, wherein the process of reform does not occur on a linear basis, but instead occurs as a system, where all levels are gradually altered at the same time, each forming feedback loops to strengthen each other as a shared whole. This mode of change, based on the Theory of Change, is fundamentally different to the work that most of us are accustomed to. Regarding key values stemming from this model, the CIC relies on constant measurement and collaboration. Both of these aspects occur on a far broader basis than many of us are accustomed to due to the aforementioned goal of systemic change. Collaboration in the education sector tends to be separated across public and private and by stakeholder. The CIC encourages collaboration across all stakeholders, thus yielding the wealth of perspectives needed for systems change. Similarly, initiatives in Kuwait aiming to alter a status quo tend to focus on this objective alone. It is uncommon to see the objective qualitatively or quantitatively measured, as replicability is not deemed important. The CIC diverges from this norm and encourages shared measurement with the objective of having the ability to both evaluate and replicate impact.
Working in a small team with both classmates and educators, what has the consensus-building process been like? What did it teach you?
Often, having both educators and students working together yields different perspectives on a similar issue. In spite of these different perspectives, solutions proposed by both demographics tend to be similar. This would indicate that weaknesses in the education system pose different problems for different stakeholders. That being said, the aforementioned weaknesses are agreed upon by stakeholders and are relatively objective, thus yielding similar solutions across different demographics.
What have you accomplished as a group so far? And what are your next steps moving forward?
As a group, we have defined our priority areas and their respective outcomes as outlined above. We have also discussed how these priority areas would feed into the larger priority areas put in place by the CIC as a whole. At the moment, we have begun to brainstorm measurements for these outcomes that could potentially be used by other think tanks, in order for us to eventually agree upon joint measurements, thus allowing CI activities to be monitored and evaluated. When shared measurements are agreed upon, the Student Think Tank will proceed in developing initiatives within each priority area, measuring them using the agreed-upon aggregates. The think tank has already begun working on one such initiative, forming an environmental workgroup. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the workgroup is currently inactive. Regarding structure, the think tank also aims to expand in the future, as it is currently comprised of representatives from only four institutions. Representatives from an additional four institutions have already been contacted. The think tank also hopes to include representatives from public institutions in order to cater to shared governance and the larger priority area of inclusivity, but has been unable to do so as of yet due to a language barrier.
The Student Think Tank members include Issa Al Saleh (Chair), Jana Kharafallah, Nathania Evbomoen, Nour Karim, Fahad Abulghod, Micah Ziemetz, Amy Crace and Shaihana Al Mutairi.
